Frederick H. Hauck, A1962, former commander of NASA's space shuttle Discovery, is an alumni trustee and tenth recipient of the Presidential Medal (1985).

Hauck studied at the St. Alban's School in Washington, D.C. before entering Tufts University. The son and grandson of Navy men, Hauck participated in theNavy Reserve Training Course as an undergraduate, served as president of the Tower Cross, was a student council representative, and a member of Delta Upsilon fraternity. Hauck owned a motorcycle while living on campus, which was considered to be a rare occurrence at the time. After graduating with a B.S. in physics in 1962, Hauck earned a M.S. in nuclear engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

He began his aerospace career as a Navy pilot when he was twenty-five years old. He flew 114 missions in Vietnam and won nine Air Medals. In 1972, he was named outstanding test pilot of the Navy. Hauck was selected for NASA's astronaut program in 1978, piloting his first shuttle flight in 1983.In 1984, he commanded the first space salvage mission in history, returning two malfunctioning satellites to earth.

In November 1984, Hauck was appointed Associate Administrator for External Relations at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D. C.The following year he returned to the astronaut program, commanding the first post-Challenger accident flight of the space shuttle Discovery. Hauck left NASA in 1989 to join the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations at the Pentagon as Director of Navy Space Systems Division.

In 1990, Hauck became president of AXA Space, which provides property insurance coverage for telecommunication satellites during launch and in orbit. He was made CEO of the company in 1993. He was tapped the same year by NASA to serve on the Advisory Committee on the Redesign of the Space Station. In 1998, Hauck was named as fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

In 1985, Tufts awarded Hauck the Presidential Medal, the tenth to be bestowed in the course of the institution's history. At the time, he returned a flag with the Tufts Seal to President Mayer, after it hadtraveled 2.9 million nautical miles, 127 times around the globe on the space shuttle. He then presented a public lecture on advancements in the space program, inaugurating the Distinguished Alumni Lecture Series. In 1992, he was elected to a ten year term as an alumni trustee on the university's board of trustees.

Source: TC, Spring/Summer 1992; TD, October 11, 1988; PRN, May 7, 1998; NYT, June 19, 1983; UPI, February 19, 1985; NASA, April 1, 1993; NASA, March 23, 1989

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